When Monsters Redeem Men
by Orion Snodgrass
Summary: Alexander Anderson is sent to destroy Yokai Academy, but he will find it a far different mission than he suspected.
1. Chapter 1

Alexander Anderson sat in the Vatican, eagerly waiting for his next assignment. He yearned to bring divine punishment upon more unholy monsters, to send them back to the lowest depths of Hades. His hatred stemmed from his experience with a vampire in WWII. He fought in the service of Britain, fought his best, but a vampire made his way on the field, massacering both sides, making vampires and ghouls alike. Anderson hade taken a shot in the back, and was unable to move. The black creature made it's way to Anderson, but Anderson instead went for his gun, choosing to kill himself than become an unholy beast. An enemy artillery blast ironically saved him, obliterating the vampire and knocking him out. After the war, he became a priest, and eventually found his way into Section XIII- Iscariot. And now, the purpose of his life was to slay the damned.

Enrico Maxwell called in Anderson.

"Ah, Anderson. It's good to see you. Are you ready for your next assignment in the service of the Lord?" Maxwell said, grinning.

"Aye, that Ah am. Where are ye sendin' me?"

"Right to business, as always. Well, then, let's get to it. You will be going to a bastion of filthy heathen beasts. It's called Yokai Academy, a 'school' where monsters learn to blend in a human society, where they can do their dark deeds unseen. But the Lord sees, and we also."

"So, ye want me tae go an' bring them a guid taste o' divine punishment?"

"Exactly. We will bring a helicopter to bring you over, and we will drop you into the academy. It's large, and full of heathen swine. Take as long as you need."

"Aye. Ah'll start right away." Anderson stood up, and turned to the door. True enough, a helicopter was waiting right outside for Anderson. The Vatican wasted no time, and neither would he. Soon, the only thing one would see in Yokai s the shimmer of millions of holy bayonets protruding from the bodies of all the unholy beasts.


	2. Chapter 2

Anderson stood out in the courtyard of Yokai, observing. No one was out. No _thing_ was out. By the looks of it, Yokai was as normal a place as any other.

And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light, Anderson thought, feeling his rage boil as the holy scriptures burn through his mind.

His fist clenched at the thought of unholy creatures gathering here- to be in the human world, no less!

His thoughts were shattered by the ear splitting sound of a school bell. Hundreds of doors flew open, and...children poured out. Children?! Anderson's mind reeled, struggling against itself. Part of him screamed to lay waste, the other telling him it was only children. He stood, unable to move, unsure what to do.

Students milled about, chatting, laughing. Some made no attempt to hide what they were, fangs bared, roars, fins, and whatnot. Still torn within himself, he walked into the crowd. He immediately recognized the vampires by their sudden stop, staring in fear at the priest a he stode by. Apparently, his reputation preceded him even here among the heathens One in particular caught his eye. A tall, pale, pink haired girl with a rosario on her neck.

He chuckled at the thought of a vampire forced to go around with a cross on its neck. Someone grabbed his shoulder spinning him around. A man in a hooded clerical robe removed his hand from his shoulder, with a devilish grin. A cross dangled from a string across his neck.

"Welcome, Anderson. I am the Headmaster. We are looking forward to you teaching these children of human religious practices."

Anderson suddenly remembered his cover here as a philosophy and religion instructor here.

"Aye, Ah hope tae teach them lessons tae last a lifetime,"

The Headmaster's voice lowered significantly- "Do not think Iscariot has me fooled. Many here know who you are. Touch these children, and you will pay. They are only children- remember that."


	3. Chapter 3

As he headed towards the classroom, Father Alexander Anderson pondered his mission. Iscariot surely would not have sent him against children. Perhaps there was more to the mission than met the eye. As the school's newest theology instructor, he would keep an eye out for any suspicious activity. He could feel the fear of the children as he entered the room. He managed a smile, and proceeded to a desk that sat at the front of the class. A cat-woman gleefully introduced herself to him as Ms. Nekonome, and introduced him to the class. As she left, he felt the cold stares of many vampires, as well as other creatures. He attempted to reduce the tension.

"As many o' ye already knoo, Ah'm Father Alexander Anderson. Ah'm not here tae stick ye like a pig. Ah'm here to teach ye aboot religion, that ye may better understand the human cultures." he stated.

A girl, about fourteen, with red hair and pig tails, stood up and said, "And so the school brings the most intolerant religion here to teach us, recruiting someone who regularly kills our kind?"

"Ah only kill the ones that go crazy an' start hurtin' people. An' as far as religion goes, Catholicism has advanced wit' the times, young lass. No more inquisitions. Ye want intolerance, go tae the Muslims. They'll kill ye just as fast as they'd look at ye." Anderson snapped, and the girl sat down, pouting yet quiet. The rest of the class was hushed, staring at him, waiting for his next move. He turned to the board, and began a lecture on the origins of Christianity. While writing out the genealogy of Jesus Christ, he heard one student claim that his father was the cause the cause of the virgin birth. With a flick of his wrist, a bayonet was embedded up to its handle in the students desk.

"Ye will nae blaspheme the guid Laird, ye great daft lad."

The rest of the class, he taught without further interruptions.


	4. Chapter 4

Anderson was taking a nightly stroll, looking about for anything that might hint at Iscariot's reasoning for his being sent here. Yokai's reputation was good, and Iscariot would never sanction an attack on children, even non-humans. As he rounded a decorative tombstone, a student stood before him, baring fangs.

"Ye widnae want tae do that, lad,"

"You killed my uncle, and I will avenge him!" the boy cried out, lunging at Anderson, who sidestepped and pushed the boy into the ground.

"Whit was his name?" he inquired, hoping an explanation might prevent him from having to kill the boy. He understood the boy's motives, but that wouldn't stop him from killing the child if he had to.

The boy shot a look of pure hatred and rage. "You murder him in cold blood, and you don't even remember?! You don't remeber slaying Andrew Jacobson in New York City three years ago?"

Anderson remembered. "Aye, lad. Ah remember. But Ah did nae murder him. It was justice, an' Ah could nae avoid it. Sixteen people died at his hands. When Ah found him, he was slaking his thirst on a seventeenth, a little girl that could nae be o'er nine."

The boy looked shocked. "No, that's not what happened. My parents said you killed him in cold blood, because all you Catholics hate us!"

"Nay, lad, we do nae hate ye. At least, Ah dinnae. Ye are a pitiful lot, that's for sure, but Ah ne'er hated ye. Ah only kill monsters. Ye are non-human. Ye become a monster when ye begin tae kill people. An' yer uncle, he took the lives o' seventeen people. His last, a wee lass who had nae even had the chance tae begin life. My job is tae enforce the Scriptures when it says, 'Those who live by the sword, die by the sword,' Even me, one day, will have tae face that. Mah heart will be ripped oot like how Ah've the ripped the heart oot o' so many families. Ah dinnae like tae kill, but Ah do it because o' the right reasons."

The boy stood silent, thinking. After a minute, he silently walked away. Anderson did the same, heading to his room for the night. As he fell asleep, he wondered how many other children mourned their families, believing he had murdered them. And, essentially, he had. Repay blood with blood, that was his job. But where was the good in that? The victims of the vampiric attack, and the vampire's family both grieved. Perhaps, instead of justice, he should have tried to prevent those awful acts. His nightmares consisted of endless battle, a vampire who could not be beaten. Anderson himself become a monster, a crown of thorns, yet still lost, his heart torn out. That night, sleep was fitful.


End file.
